Sarah Gibbard Cook
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War as Metaphor

11/23/2020

2 Comments

 
War on crime. War on poverty. War on drugs. War on terror. To call a big initiative a “war” is almost irresistible. The word conjures up determination, mobilization of resources, unity of purpose, and personal sacrifice for a larger cause.

Less consciously perhaps, “war” also conjures up constraints on civil liberties and acceptance of collateral damage. The language of metaphorical war lulls the public to condone these measures, with no clear end point. From the naming of the drug war, all the rest follows: police militarized, no-knock warrants issued, police shot by occupants who mistake them for housebreakers, bystanders killed by police returning fire. Combat and collateral damage.

​Words matter. It may be time to declare war on metaphors of war.
2 Comments
Rebecca link
11/23/2020 09:51:44 am

Or it's time to wage peace on all these wars. : ) Thanks for this post, Sarah. I agree that using that terminology leads us to a siege mentality. I appreciate you pointing it out.

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Sarah Cook link
11/23/2020 01:56:29 pm

Waging peace is a great idea! Wonder how we could ever get it to catch on as a phrase.

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    I'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. 

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